Walk Toward The Bush

I have been thinking a lot lately about “how do I find God’s will?” This is nothing new, really. However, it has been kicked into high gear over the last year or so as we have been searching and praying for our next place of ministry service.

I am reminded of the story of Moses’ call experience in Exodus 3. He was out on the backside of the desert, simply doing his job (and running from God as well!), and this bush is on fire, but isn’t being consumed. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen too many bushes simply burst into flames. However, I haven’t ever lived in the desert either. I understand that this happens quite often–the catching fire part; not the “not being consumed” part. That is the fact that was so amazing to Moses; the bush was on fire, but the bush wasn’t burning up!

It is not my intent in this post to debate the “how” of the story. It was obviously a miracle that God was doing to get Moses’ attention. I wonder how many “burning bushes” are in our lives and we simply miss them because we are too focused on our lives? Notice the question in the first sentence of the post–“how do I find God’s will?” Notice I didn’t say, “how do I find God’s will for my life?” See the difference? They are worlds apart!  The problem that I often have is that I am too concerned with the “for my life” part of that question that I totally miss the “God’s will” part of the question! I bet that is true in your life as well.

What God has been having me focus on lately is the fact that Moses simply took a step toward the burning bush. Simple? Yes. Hard to do? Yes, even more difficult than we imagine. God got ahold of Moses’ attention, but Moses didn’t ignore God’s attempt to communicate with him. He actually embraced the idea–the wonder of it all, and he walked toward the bush. Did Moses have a lot of things on his mind? Probably. Have you ever been adopted into a kings family; then to have it thrown all away because you murdered a man? I’m guessing the man understood stress! Now add to that, he is working for his father-in-law in the middle of nowhere Desertsville in a seemingly dead-end job and life. Sure, he was probably happy with his nice quiet life with the fam, but God wanted more…and he knew it!

I believe that we all need to take every opportunity we have to walk toward the next burning bush in our lives. What is your burning bush that you need to take the huge step of faith and walk toward? I don’t know what God has for you, but I know He has something…and it’s probably bigger than what you are experiencing right now!

My "own" brush fire in the back yard.

The Lord has been teaching me that it isn’t up to me to “make the bush burn,” or in essence, try to make things happen in my life. That is God’s job, and I am taking away His glory! My job is to simply walk toward the bushes that are burning to see if they are burning because of the Lord. Many of these “bushes” that are on fire are just like every other bush that has been struck by lightning in the desert…burning up in the heat. However, there are those few burning bushes that are on fire, but aren’t being consumed…that is where the Lord is trying to communicate with His people. So, the worst thing that happens–the bush burns up and we are left looking for others. My experience over the last few years and especially the last 8-10 month is that as soon as one bush turns to ashes, another bush bursts into flames and we are sent to go check that one out. The call of God is a journey, not a destination.

If you wouldn’t mind, would you please pray for myself, Jenny, and the boys as we step toward several different “bushes” this month. There are several “fires in the desert,” but we don’t just want a fire, we want to experience God in our lives! When you read this, Jenny and I are on a plane headed to look at one of those burning bushes in another state. We have another “bush” that we are going to walk toward later on the first of next week, and another on the horizon after that. Pray that we would enjoy the journey and simply embrace the walk toward the burning bush, and thus taking a faith step toward the Almighty.

Tell me, what is the “burning bush” in your life that you know you need to walk toward? Leave a comment. I would love to hear about it and pray for you as well!